Abstract
The child study movement constitutes an important chapter in the history of educational psychology. Although goals of the movement were diverse, its principal purpose was to establish a scientific pedagogy, to bring the methods of experimental psychology to bear in discovering all that could be known about the child: sensory capabilities, physical characteristics, humor, play, religious ideas, memory, attention span, and so forth. With this new knowledge, education would no longer be guesswork but a science. Pedagogical practices would be restructured in such a way as to be maximally effective for all kinds of students. In this context, child study was seen as a natural bridge between the universities and the schools, a link that would aid in the acceptance of an educational psychology.
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Davidson, E.S., Benjamin, L.T. (1987). A History of the Child Study Movement in America. In: Glover, J.A., Ronning, R.R. (eds) Historical Foundations of Educational Psychology. Perspectives on Individual Differences. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3620-2_3
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